ARLINGTON, Texas -- A night Tampa Bay Rays hero Brett Phillips won't soon forget ended with him getting an IV solution not long after winning Game 4 of the World Series with a bottom-of-the-ninth base hit to right field. Phillips was dehydrated and had a migraine after celebrating with his teammates.
"Almost passed out," Phillips said Sunday afternoon. "I didn't realize I was dehydrated. I had to get an IV. My resting heart rate was over 140 [beats per minute] just lying there."
Phillips was mobbed by his teammates in the outfield after rookie Randy Arozarena crossed home plate with the winning run in a wild, 8-7, win. The excitement got the best of him when he returned to the clubhouse.
"They had to cover my eyes with a towel because I had a pounding migraine," Phillips stated. "I wasn't looking at the light and had to slow down the breathing. Was just relaxing and hanging out."
Teammate Joey Wendle was asked if he had ever seen the guy that wins the game go get an IV afterwards.
"We were celebrating after the game, and we were at the part where we were going to give him a shoutout, and someone said he's not here," Wendle said. "He went to the trainer's room. That's a first time for me."
After Phillips began to feel better, he eventually checked his phone only to find many, many messages from friends, family and former teammates.
"I had a little over 500 text messages," he said. "I went to bed at 4 a.m. after replying to every single one of those text messages."
Players from around the league like Ryan Braun, Adam Wainwright, Liam Hendriks and Whit Merrifield all reached out to congratulate Phillips.
"It was really special for me just to see people say, 'There was no one better that deserves it. You were a good teammate,'" Phillips said. "Stuff like that means the most to me."
Many in Phillips' family, including his wife, left the game early, but he didn't take it personally.
"I told them I'm glad that they left," Phillips explained. "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and who knows if they would have stayed if that would have happened."